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Draft:Out West Restaurant Group

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Out West Restaurant Group
Formerly
  • T-Bird Restaurant Group
    (1994-2017)
Company typeFranchisee
IndustryRestaurants
GenreCasual dining
Founded1992; 32 years ago (1992)
Founder
  • Thomas J. Shannon Jr.
Headquarters,
United States
Area served
California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico
ProductsAustralian themed American cuisine
RevenueUS$ ~4.2 million (annually)
WebsiteOut West Restaurant Group

Out West Restaurant Group Inc. is a privately-owned and operated corporate franchisee of the national Australian-themed steakhouse chain Outback Steakhouse, based in San Diego, California. The company currently operates Outback locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.

History

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Out West Restaurant Group was founded by Thomas J. Shannon Jr. in 1992, under the name T-Bird Restaurant Group. The company would separately operate a select number of Outback Steakhouse locations, exclusively in California. T-Bird operated out of their original headquarters in La Jolla, California.[1]

Prior to 1992, all Outback locations were corporately-owned by Bloomin' Brands, and were mostly located on the East Coast of the United States. Under Shannon’s leadership, T-Bird grew to operate over 60 Outback locations in California, and even resulted in the California Restaurant Association Educational Foundation named Tom the “Restaurateur of the Year, 2002.”[2] The first Outback location in Southern California was opened in 1994, in Upland, California. After this, many other Outbacks then opened up in the Metropolitan LA area.

In October 2015, T-Bird, and its 62 Outback locations, were acquired by H.I.G. Capital, a private equity firm based in Miami, Florida. This buyout resulted in the company’s stock ultimately going private, leaving its exact financial status largely unknown.[3] [4]

In 2018, the now privately-owned T-Bird merged with a struggling restaurant company Cerca Trova Restaurant Concepts, and created a new company, which would be named Out West Restaurant Group Inc, due to their large footprint of Outback restaurants located in the West Coast. This newly formed company moved from their La Jolla base to their new headquarters in San Diego, California. This new company then started to acquire Outback locations in many other states, including Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, while also growing their already large footprint in California. Out West now operates over 100 locations in their 5 respective states, all in the West Coast, and is the largest franchise of Bloomin’ Brands locations in the world. [5]

References

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  1. ^ "Out West Restaurant Group Overview". PitchBook. 2015.
  2. ^ "Thomas J. Shannon, Jr". Irish America. 2011.
  3. ^ "H.I.G. Capital Completes Acquisition of T-Bird Restaurant Group, Inc". H.I.G. Capital. 7 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Private-equity firm buys Outback Steakhouse Franchisee". Kelsey Squire. 7 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Out West Restaurant Group, Inc". H.I.G. Capital. October 2015.
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